Birthday Bonfire! PV to the invited Guests

Graphic by Leonard Oaksworth

Reducio

Tags:
@Opeila Winters, @Sarah Lightwood, @Alan Vanes, @Anastasia Beckett, @Dan Palmer, @Griseldis Edelhardt, @Illowy Magnard, @Willow Anderson, @Evelynn Decipio, @Tyranni Whitethorn, @Pericles Dralt, @Flash Holmwood, @Aaron Jones, @Sylvain Wyllt, @Autumn Ivy, @Cassandra Ironwoods, @Zykeal Lane, @Ileen Knight, @Lindsey Springhall, @Leonard Oaksworth, @Michael Miller and @Quinlan Knight

Happy birthday, as they say.
Was it illegal to ignore such an order, Marshal wondered? It seemed like it should be. Honestly, the boy would have been the first to enforce the rule only a few months prior, content to drag a friend from bed and allow his own joy to effectively trample any of said friend's reservations. He had done so on multiple occasions, but never had he imagined that he would be the one who needed dragging. And yet, here he was, one year older but finding it hard to care.
What did age matter, anyway? Was it a status symbol, signaling one's maturity and qualification to undergo certain tasks, or receive certain things? Or was it merely a morbid total of years an individual had survived in this pernicious world?
He had never given much thought to the subject, if any at all. Before, all that had really mattered about his birthday was the day itself, and all the presents, parties and friends that came with it. But after what had taken place with the train back in January, he found himself feeling lucky that he was even around to welcome the next chapter of his life. His book had so nearly come to an abrupt end, along with so many others.
And, though they had escaped with their lives, there were too many in the world who weren't so fortunate, like his sister. So why did he get another chance? Why did he get to cheat death? He wasn't special; weren't there others who deserved to live more than he did?
One thing he knew for certain was that he would give his own life to get Fawn's back, if only he could. What right did he have to enjoy a lifetime of wonder when hers had been cut so short?

All these thoughts and more continually revolved in his mind, though they were interrupted when Opeila had presented her idea of a joint party, since their respective birthdays fell on the same day, coincidentally.
He had wanted to get excited about the suggestion, had wanted to let his regular enthusiasm take over his being once more, as it had done his whole life... but he simply couldn't. Agreeing to make the proposition a reality, he'd tried to pull his thoughts from the somber mood they resided in, hoping his outlook would change in the days leading up to the party, yet somber they remained.
Some days were better than others, of course, like when he had tampered with Opeila's carefully prepared invitations, assuring the guests that there would be a special type of fiery fun. Pei hadn't released her inner fangirl over his handiwork, sadly, but it had nevertheless given him some amount of joy again.
Today, that joy was gone.

It hadn't helped that Pei had pulled him away from his lunch... again. Sometimes, he wondered if she simply enjoyed seeing him suffer from starvation, which happened to be his most feared source of death. To die without even the satisfaction of a full stomach; truly, it was the stuff of nightmares.
Not at all in the mood for a party, but driven by the thought of roasting marshmallows in the near future, he had followed the girl to the grounds and assisted with preparations, namely gathering firewood. Opeila had evidently taken care of all the other details, effectively making Marshal feel entirely worthless for not helping more. Had she asked, he certainly would have, and, under normal circumstances, likely would have considered it on his own. But, consumed as he was with his own thoughts recently, the concept had completely slipped his mind.
In some vain attempt to make up for his own ineptitude, the young Gryffindor had hastened to snatch as many sticks as possible from the vast area, counting every one he added to the pile as one more that Opeila didn't have to track down. The task was rather difficult, however, as he made certain to keep his distance from the forbidden forest. Previously, the boy had entertained many a plot to sneak his way into the forest, but again, nothing was the way it used to be.

At one point, as the boy crouched to grasp a particularly promising branch, something teased at the corner of his vision. Turning his head to look in earnest, his heart had frozen at the sight of Opeila wandering far too close to the edge of the trees. Firewood forgotten, the sticks he had gathered dropped to the ground as he broke into a sprint, heading in her direction. His mind was consumed by thoughts of the girl entering the forest and never returning, his heart gripped by an irrational fear that he had only experienced once before. Images of his sister's face melded with Pei's own, but he was unwilling to let his friend share the same fate. So he ran.
Before he could reach her, she'd stooped to pick up a branch, glanced at the gently dancing trees, and turned away from the forest in search of more wood.
Seeing this, Marshal slowed to a stop, breath coming in heavy gasps, heart thumping in his throat as it screamed for him to save the girl's life. But his rational mind had taken control once more, assuring him that she would be fine. She knew the rules, and she wasn't stupid. She wasn't about to go skipping through the woods like Little Red Riding Hood in search of wood for their fire. There was no need to be afraid. So why was he? What had possessed him so suddenly, forcing him into action?
Running a trembling hand through his hair with one more shaky breath, he had returned for his discarded pile of sticks, grateful that Opeila didn't seem to have noticed what he had done.

Presently, the first-year watched in amazement as Pei produced a bout of blue flames with two odd words and a fancy flick of her wand, ignited their modest pile of sticks and branches with ease.
"Wow..." he murmured in awe, forced to blink at the sudden light. Despite his less than cheerful mood, the sight of a person creating instant fire stirred a sense of exhilaration within his stomach, and he couldn't hold back a satisfied grin. "Now, that's how you start a fire!" He glanced at her wand, a figurative light bulb almost certainly lighting the space above his head as an idea passed through the space between his ears. "I wonder, would it be possible to prolong the effect of that spell and use your wand like a blowtorch? Cause that would be the best thing since the creation of fire itself. I'd pay to see that." He removed his own wand from its place in his pocket, examining the object with new eyes. How dangerous could this thing really be?
"By the way, thanks for setting all of this up," he added in a guilty tone. "Sorry I wasn't terribly helpful about it." There was a pause, then his previous grin made a comeback, turning mischievous. "But at least I was able to help with the invitations!"

Banner by Akari Kato

Interacting With: @Marshal Mozor, the most amazing golden retriever to ever exist.
...and @Opeila Winters.
Hex Code: #143314

For all the horrifying spontaneity and the terrifying unpredictability that came with the presence of any being, and most especially the being that worshipped dragons for their marshmallow roasting ability as a medieval man would do to a metal farm animal, there was almost a comforting formula to how birthday parties would go. Although Leonard hadn't been invited to most events of that kind, opting to read the tragic misadventures of amateur explorers and contemplate which exact point in his life he'd become a reclusive disappointment instead of picking apart sketchy magicians, there was a simple list of things all birthdays followed. Granted, he'd never attended a bash of birth dates that was for two people with actual magicians attending, but he was counting on his checklist being correct. For what specks were left of his dignity, yes. For saving the social ineptness and trading it for faux friendliness in front of the hundred-odd people the inviters inevitably befriended in the span of a month, yes. For the fact the most infuriatingly brilliant, terribly well meaning, ridiculously creative Gryffindor the castle ever had the privilege of admitting to classes, yes. For a reunion with the incarnation of a golden retriever, the support dog he'd missed so dearly after weeks upon weeks of seeing only his many faults and failures, yes.

Also for the fact Opeila was there, he thought. Opeila and Marshal were equal causes, yes, completely equal.

(In reality, the two were as equal as their neighbours' opinion of his father compared to him, but he could pretend to not hurt his fellow snake's feelings.)

He went back to reviewing his timetable of events, counting off his fingers while absentmindedly walking to the grounds. First, there would be the awkward introduction. The host would be smiling with the same amount of sweetness as a cruciferous vegetable, shaking the hands of relatives more distant than the Poles and instructing unfortunate guests to the table of meaningless presents. Whomever one came along with would abandon one almost immediately after, chasing the free food and karaoke like a lifeline. Second, there would be the welcoming. Microphones that squeaked and picked up inhaling much too loudly, speakers that could've passed as weapons-grade sonic machines, uncomfortable videos of people growing up with equally unfortunate haircuts, all would be painfully present. Third, there would be fun. Fun was a loose definition, only applying to the seven-year-old who so loved pirates or the two-year-old who just wanted a bottle of milk. He could survive all three, hopefully, considering the host wouldn't be a passive-aggressive mother or an extremely over-the-top grandfather. He could survive, the mantra was, repeated over and over again as the scenery changed from the Great Hall to the great outdoors. He could survive, he could survive, he would survive—

A sudden, small exclamation of pain would be heard, though hopefully not by anyone who had also accepted the invitation, as Leonard realised he'd walked just a tad too close to the trunk of a tree. He quickly looked around in attempt to clarify that the mishap hadn't been seen by any of his fellow students, or worse, the lion he'd so missed. Though not a peer, he saw something very familiar. The fourth part, perhaps.

As a Hogwarts special, there was fire. Blue and flickering, licking at the air in its natural habitat with no care for wind speeds. Near it stood two figures, silhouettes he could barely make out from the distance. Caution in every step, Leonard walked closer. While the invite had mentioned a rather suspicious bonfire, it was completely feasible some primal ritual that phantoms of the past were participating in had conflicted with the schedule. After a few more moments, pieces of recognition had began to form. Disheveled hair the shade of the sun, accompanied by a girl he could care for just a bit less. He just needed to be collected, he reminded himself.

"Marshal!" He ran towards the Gryffindor, a wide grin unconsciously spreading across his face. Forget collection of any kind, happiness abounded. Upon arriving nearer to the fire, he then realised how very unplanned that was. It was the boy's essence, he figured. Leonard cleared his throat, pulling on the bottom button of his shirt as though the action would let him redo his entrance. It did not, and he was left to clean up after the mess.

"Hello, hello, greetings, Marshal, Opeila. Happy birthday to both of you," he nodded at the others, almost bowing with how long he'd spent staring at the ground and silently cursing himself. "Th-this is the proper place to be for your bonfire, yes?"

Smooth indeed, Oaksworth, smooth indeed.

Hexcode= #507091

He really wished he could stay. Well, that was what he was he intended to say to her anyways. The line was part of a prepared response he had formulated, nervously, on his way down to the bonfire site Pei and Marshal had declared their own. A ball of blue flame eliminated any doubt in the back of his mind that this was the right spot. That and the three or so people already gathering beside it. He didn't recognize anyone else but Pei, but he was early so there was still time for others to arrive and getting a party started was always the hardest part anyways.

Sylvain thought that he enjoyed being early. Arriving at the start of things gave him the advantage of picking his preferred moment to leave, an advantage which was necessary if he wanted to master his potions skills in time for summer break. He was on the verge of a major breakthrough, he could feel it. In just the short amount of time since school had started back up, Sylvain had doubled down on filling up his schedule and it was already taking a toll on his passions. Pei would probably understand his inability to stay long if he told her politely though, so his nerves were given reason as salve.

Nodding to the other two lads, one of whom was presumably Marshal, Sylvain smiled as he approached the trio surrounding the bluebell flames. There was no mistaking that this was Miss Winters from the Hogwarts Express. She looked every bit as put together as the day he had first met her over tea, but somehow she looked more confident and certain of herself than when she'd ridden the Express at the start of the year. He presumed it was due to perseverance and adaptability. Traits that she had already proven, to him, that she was more than adept at.

"Miss Winters," he said a smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around her to give her a big hug, letting it linger for a moment longer as the flames warmed them both. "Pei," he said gently as they closed in, giving her a tighter squeeze, and expressing his affection in the way he knew best how to do. "I'm really sorry that I can't stay too long," he drew back from their snug hug and pulled a small box out of his satchel, a bit of gold ribbon and green paper holding the lid shut. "Nothing as fancy as you, but I hope it serves you well."

He turned to the other two unsure of how to tell Marshal from Leonard. At least they were on even terms then. "One of you is Marshal I take it?" he said while removing the second gift from his bag. It was a brown paper sack with some movement inside it. He loved pulling this prank too much. "Happy Birthday," he said handing the bag full of chocolate frogs off to whichever claimed to be the birthday boy first. "Though you might want to open that later," he said pausing for effect "It's full of chocolate surprises."

Glad to have made an appearance but already behind, Sylvain excused himself declaring he had work to do. Thus he sped off to the castle to get back to his research, Minerva not far behind. Looking over his shoulder to see if Marshal took his advice or not.

@Leonard Oaksworth @Marshal Mozor @ Opeila Winters

Dan smiled on his way out of the castle. He always liked birthday parties. The guest of honor was happy, there were presents, usually cake or ice cream, sometimes even both! And THIS one was a DOUBLE party!

Dan had had to sneak off to- I mean go to Hogsmeade during allowed hours in order to get the appropriate sweets.
And, as far as Dan was concerned, ALL sweets were appropriate sweets. Especially at birthday parties. So he got some bags of every kind of candy. He also did not know what presents to get... Dan was acquainted with Pei, but he didn't know her well enough to predict what presents to get, and he'd never even MET Marshal before.
Dan had thought to get Butterbeers for them, but he was also not sure if Marshal was of age or Irish. Since everyone knows if you're Irish, once you're able to walk, you can drink.

(That's a joke, not true)

He was also told that it was going to be a marshmallow bonfire thingy. Dan was not sure how Butterbeer would mix with marshmallows, but probably not well.

Dan just decided to buy a bunch of chocolate frogs, a box for each, and hope neither of them were allergic to chocolate.

Dan didn't dress up for it; Dan never dressed up for anything. He was in a short sleeve green shirt and black shorts. As usual, he was barefooted. He was flanked by his Egyptian Mau kitty, Loki. Dan was pretty sure he didn't know what was going on, but he was just happy to follow his master out for a walk.
Every so often, Loki would pounce at Dan's bare toes, causing him to have to jump back and almost perform a dance to escape Loki's playful hunter talents.

Eventually, he arrived at the spot, and saw the two birthday children.
"Hi Opeila! And ye must be Marshal! Happy Birthday! I uh... didn't know what teh get ye, so I just got ye both some Chocolate Frogs and lotsa candy fer the party!"

Loki meowed his approval and swayed his tail back and forth.
Sure, Cake would have been more appropriate than candy, but there was not a chance in seven hells that Dan was going to try to make a cake.

Dan set the stuff down and hugged Pei and Marshal, big smile on. He also kept an eye on what he brought, since Loki had a talent for getting into things that he had no business with.

Interacting with @Opeila Winters and @Marshal Mozor

interacts @Opeila Winters @Marshal Mozor @Leonard Oaksworth @Dan Palmer

outfit open to interactions!

So, what’s a birthday? To Lindsey, it’s a time for people to get together - friends, family, etc. And a chance to meet new people. She was somehow regretted that her own was in summer, and most people had their own plans by then. But though - attending birthday parties were always fantastic. Especially when the person was Marshal. That baby lion had always been adorable and sweet, and she cared for him - he was one of her closest friends, and she knew that she needed him by her side.

Although it’s rather a shame to say that the last time she properly met him was almost five months ago - and she hadn’t talked to him ever since. Well, she had seen him once after September, which was true, but that…had been rather intriguing. She overheard something that she shouldn’t have gotten herself into. Lindsey never wanted to mention it twice, but probably, she wouldn’t avoid it if anyone inquired about it. Probably. She wasn’t very sure.

Being invited by Marshal and Opeila was truly exciting. Well, it was almost 100% sure that she would meet others, acquainted or unacquainted. It’s rather publicly known that Lindsey Springhall would never let go an opportunity to make new friends, so yeah, she looked forward to the party. She had only met Opeila twice, once during a party started by the latter and then during summer camp. The Slytherin girl seemed quite nice so far, though Lynn really didn’t know her well.

It wasn’t long before she spotted the bonfire set up by the birthday kids on the Hogwarts grounds. A spectacle, as usual. The flames were somehow protected, by some sorts of spells that she had yet to learn, possibly? She had shut her Bengal cat Napoleon in her dorm, feeling insure to take him out, as he would surely mess things up. Double checking her own outfit and picking up her birthday present for the two children, she was here, gazing towards the bonfire at the entrance of the castle. Grinning a bit, mostly to herself, the badger set off at full speed, and stormed towards them.

Her feet tapped the ground lightly, though stopped in concern as she could see the four people and a cat there clearly. The dark haired girl was Opeila, the light headed one Marshal, and yet there were still two left. Oh yeah. How could she mistaken the brown haired boy? Her witty old companion Leonard, wasn’t it? Intriguing, really, intriguing. She should have taken this into consideration. If Marshal and Leonard were seen together at the chaotic corridors, then they should show up together again on Marsh’s birthday party. Huh. The last time she saw Leonard properly was almost a year ago - well, like, nine or ten months - and after he threw her a short phrase that she was not able to respond during the embarrassing event, they hadn’t talked since. Fun. This was truly gonna be fun. She was a bit looking forward to seeing this Slytherin deep in her heart, which she wasn’t really aware of. He was one of her friends after all - or at least she believed so on her side. Time for reuniting, Springhall, time for reuniting.

And that black haired boy with a cat who seemed a bit older than the rest - wasn’t that the Slytherin’s Quidditch captain? Palmer, if she hadn’t mistaken? Lindsey knew clearly that Quidditch players and Duelists were somehow young celebrities around the school, and especially the team captains. And they had just competed against the snakes less than a month ago on the Quidditch pitch, so there’s small chance that she had mistaken the boy’s identity. Calmly she observed the four, then her eyes sparkled with delight - Marshal must be glad to see her. And hopefully it would be the same for Leonard.

“Hiya, Marshal! How are you doing these days?” with a genuine smile she made her way towards them. She held her birthday present behind her, and nodded merrily to Opeila. “Opeila! It’s nice to see you again. Happy birthday you two!” She had brought something special, something she thought that would be quite unique. Lindsey had hesitated on whether she should brought some sweets, but had finally decided to cut some of her flowers. Thanks to Aly Salinger, whom she met months ago, the Hufflepuff was now dangerously interested in plants, especially flowers. Aly had kindly offered her some bluebells when she was feeling low, and thus Lindsey planted some flower seeds in her dorm. The Plant Palace dorm - or you may even say, the Huffle common room - was just suitable for Herbology and gardening. The flowers had grown well, and the girl had picked the most beautiful ones along with some flower seeds.

“Here,” she held out two bouquets and two small bags of flower seeds (containing those of bluebells, roses, daffodils, orchids, and chrysanthemums), one for Marshal and another for Opeila, “again, happy birthday!” finally, freeing her hand, she proceeded to give Marshal a bear hug. “You are the same age as me now…can’t believe it!” she whispered to him, in a delighted tone. Glancing over to Leonard and Dan, she blushed a little bit and jumped back. “Fancy seeing you here, Leonard.” she turned her head to him, smiling warmly to the boy as she usually did. “Had been a while. How do you do?” lastly she gave a small, friendly nod to Dan. “Don’t believe we’ve met before…I’m Marshal’s friend, and the name’s Lindsey, Lindsey Springhall.”

Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled. Well, this was gonna be fun…and surely, this would be a great birthday party for her to remember.

────── ❈ ──────

[font=times new roman]

Not much of one for crowds as of late, it took the second-year a little while to manage the necessary effort it'd require him to be social for the next few hours while attending one of his friends birthday parties. There wasn't a choice of him going, he wasn't exactly making any friends, and the ones he had seemed to be dwindling away slowly over time. Of course, this was his fault, as he had set himself to hone his passions and take more time to himself this year than become a social hand grenade that he was the previous. Zykeal wasn't very successful with that though.

The weekend before, the young Gryffindor was sitting out by the Great Lake at one of his favorite trees, hiding behind the large trunk to protect himself from the wind that overcame the Scottish Highlands during the day. There, he had decided after failing in an attempt to craft a faux-wand that he'd go ahead and make a present for his friend. The boy was not very rich, so, he had to resort to his own skills to be able to provide a gift that at least could possibly hold a little value for the girl.

When the time came to attend such a party though, he lingered about in his dormitory, chatting with the Hodag boys per usual and making jokes. It'd take him a bit longer than normal to get ready, throwing on his typical black hoodie and ripped black skinny jeans. Zykeal would set the gift he made for the girl in a little shabby-looking leather pouch, it was old and patched, but, still, though he felt as if it fit the gift he was giving in some ways. When the time came to where he could manage to get out of his dormitory without the boys giving him too much grief, he'd make his way down the tower and out towards where the party was going to take place.

Out of the castle he made his way, the ivory-colored aspen wood wand twisting through his fingers as a drummer would with their sticks, he'd notice from a distance the blue flame a good distance away and couldn't help a corner smile to be produced from the side of his face. How extravagant, he thought. The soft dangle of the little leather pouch that held the gift was attached to a belt loop, tied there safely, waiting to be given to its recipient. As he made his way, he noticed that there weren't too many people there just yet and even saw another walking away.

Approaching the little group that had gathered, he looked over towards Opeila and offered a small wave to show that he was at least attending the party for the moment. Those golden hues of his drifted over Opeila for a moment and then looked upon the others that were attending the bonfire. Recognizing a few, he'd offer a tilt of his head in a nod to each of them before he'd shift his way over towards a more quiet part of the bonfire. He'd give his gift later to the girl he came to see, for now, he'd let her entertain the guests that were invited. The odd thing was that this was a joint birthday party, he hadn't a clue who the other person was though, so he made time in his head to start trying to guess which of the others were celebrating today.

Interacting with: @Opeila Winters | @Lindsey Springhall | Noticing the Others | Outfit

Opeila did not know Marshal all that well, but enough to notice that it wasn't his best day. She knew the boy to be more of an enthusiastic type and she would have assumed that a birthday party would only serve as booster for that, but he actually didn't seem that excited at all.
...Well... maybe that was also just a phase because she once more stole lunchtime from it. Hopefully the marshmallows could make up for that.
The Slytherin would have let him off the hook for the party, had he asked her a few days ago. She would have cancelled the whole thing, but now it was a little late for cold feet and she would not do this alone.

Opeila herself had been very tempted to call the whole thing off two days ago, when she had received a declining letter from her best friend. It was probably not fair of her to feel that way, but she was a little disappointed. She had very much hoped for him to come.
However, she had not let that darken her mood for too long and today she was back with new motivation. There were other friends of hers who would come! Hopefully at least... Zyk, Sylvain, Gris and some of the friends Marshal had invited she already knew as well. Leonard and Lindsey were both familiar names although she hadn't spoken that much with either of them.

Once they had finished the bonfire it seemed that Marshal was at least partly returning to his bubbly old self, wondering if the spell could be changed in a way that would allow the caster to use their wand like a blowtorch. Opeila chuckled. "That's a fun idea! I have no idea if that could work. You should invent a spell like that after Hogwarts, I'm sure that students would love it. Though professors would probably disapprove. The fire-making spells we learn are causing enough damage as it is... At least this one is not harmful. You can touch it with your bare hand- but make sure it can't touch your clothes. It's just harmless to living beings." Otherwise she would not have brought her cat, who had been staring at the blue flames for a whole while now, sitting on a pile of wood.

Opeila demonstrated it, pulling back her sleeve and holding her hand into the blue flames. The warmth of the fire was pleasant after the hour of collecting firewood. Surprised she looked at Marshal when he started to apologize for not being so helpful. "Hey, it's fine. Really. If I hadn't been ok with it, I would have told you. Also the invitations turned out great! I'm sure our friends appreciate the discussion at the bottom." The Slytherin gave him a playful shove. The invitations had been interesting. First she had wanted to get rid of the little playful argument the two of them had at the bottom, but then she had just left it in.

The first guest arrived very soon, one of Marshal's friends and Opeila's brief acquaintance, Leonard. His entrance was amusing to the Slytherin, but as he seemed to be embarassed about it, she decided not to comment on it. "Thank you!", she responded to his birthday wish instead. What she did comment on though, was his next question, whether this was the right bonfire. "Considering it's the only one around, I'd suppose so." The Slytherin wasn't sure why her housemate was that nervous, but she would just ignore it.

Sylvain was the next to arrive, causing a truly happy smile to appear on Opeila's face. She had met the boy a few times now and although she didn't know him that well, she was sure that he was the kind of person she would love to call a friend. Close enough to invite him to her birthday party- yes. Close enough to hug without being awkward- apparently also yes. But then she had never really been awkward about hugs anyway. Only that it made her realize that she had not been hugged for a rather long time. Her father as well as her grandmother had their flaws and their weird ways, but they had always tried to show her that she was loved, despite not being able to show it in other things.

"Hi Syl!", Opeila said, ignoring the disliked nickname. If it went on like that, she could as well give it up and live with it, although she was really no fan of nicknames. The only one who ever called her by a nickname before, was her dad and the Slytherin had really wanted to keep it that way. The Ravenclaw handed Opeila a box and announced that he couldn't stay. "Oh- thank you so much! I'm glad you came for a bit anyway. Can I offer you some hot chocolate or anything or do you have to get back right away?", she asked, still smiling.

The next to arrive was Dan. Opeila had hesitated putting down his name on the list of people to invite, not because she didn't like him- she didn't know him that well either- but because she felt awkward around him. She had no idea where they were standing and if she though about him, it was mostly connected to her experience last year, where she had been certain that she would die. She would have, if it hadn't been for Dan's spell that destroyed the murderous shadow last second. They had never really spoken about it and Opeila felt a little ashamed because of it.

It seemed that Dan didn't mind though, he hugged bot Marshal and the very surprised second year and told them that he brought lots of candy. "Oh, that's amazing, thanks, Dan!" She sent the Quidditch Captain a smile, that maybe had a hint of insecurity in it, but Opeila didn't want an awkward moment today, she really didn't. Dan had also brought his cat, catching Loras' interest. The soon two year old jumped of his woodpile and walked over to examine the potential new playmate.

Another familiar person showed up, another of Marshal's friends, Lindsey. Opeila knew her from the museum trip that Professor Galim had organized last summer camp. The Hufflepuff had given her a brochure back then. Opeila smiled at Lindsey who greeted her, apparently remembering her as well. "Hi Lindsey- Oh wow!" Opeila's eyes widened at the bouquet of flowers. The young Slytherin couldn't remember the last time someone gave her flowers, chocolate and candy were way more common. Not that Opeila disliked candy and chocolate, she loved them, but flowers were... well, special.

The second year was unsure if the bouquets would survive this evening with the smoke and no water- Opeila didn't have any vases- but the seeds were great! Maybe she could get a flowerpot somewhere to fill with soil that she could plant them in. It would add a nice and colorful touch to her dorm for sure, but she was unsure if they would survive with that little sun. Maybe it was better to find them a nice place outside.
Opeila smelled the bouquet. She could hang it up in her dorm to dry, even if the lifespan was short, it would make the room smell nicely.

Letting her eyes wander over the small group, Opeila recognized a person she hadn't greeted yet. Smiling, she walked over to the Gryffindor. She had last seen them in February, where they had been decorating cookies together with Evelynn. "Hi! Thanks for coming, I'm glad!", she greeted him. It slowly came back to the young witch why she had enjoyed organizing events so much in her first year. Maybe she could set up another dormbattle at some point...

Being young had its advantages. Michael never had to worry about his actions growing up with his grandparents because every he did was excused. "He's just a kid, he doesn't know" "He's young, he's going to make mistakes" Everything was so calm then. Years of knowing he wasn't alone.

Now? Everything was his fault. He didn't know all his pureblood customs? His fault, even if he wasn't raised under purebloods that cared. Didn't have a girl already promised to marry him? His fault, he should have been a worthy pureblood. Emotional? Should have tougher skin. Everything was his fault now.

He tried to keep himself together, try to make himself seem like someone who had his stuff together but. . . it was hard. Sure he could plan for this, and that, and that too. Get the food, and the table cloths and the badges, but they wouldn't make him completely whole they'd just make him look that way.

He sighed as he sat on his bed, today was Opeila's birthday, or just her birthday party or something. He couldn't seem to remember. He had got her a gift, earrings that belonged to his late family, but he still didn't feel prepared.

He decided that he was going to get there early, but as the minutes passed he realized he was lucky if he got there in time.

----
He ran to the grounds, smiling slightly when he saw the birthday girl. Of course, it seemed that everyone had arrived already, so he felt awkward as he walked up to her. "Happy Birthday Opeila." He said softly, his voice croaking from not using it for hours. He held out his hand, "I got these for you, they're kind of old, but I thought you'd like them." he said.

@Opeila Winters

Reducio

Alan had been invited to a birthday by two of his friends, Opeila and Marshal and he was excited for the bonfire. It made him remember his own birthday and he had fond memories of it though it had been a little chaotic. But Alan was looking forward to this one, he did not know either of the birthday kids too well so he had a few troubles picking a fitting birthday present for either of them, but was in the end quite happy with had he had chosen. As he arrived he would see a few familiar faces such as Sylvain who was also a dear friend of him. He would first walk over to Opeila and Marshal and grin at the both of them. "Happy birthday, I hope you've got a lot of well wishes today," he chirped before handing each a little fabric pouch, laced with twine. "I hope you like it, I wasn't completely sure what you would like," he admitted. If Opeila would open her present she would find a beautiful silver necklace with a green gemstone and a silver snake wrapping around it. If Marshal were to open his present he would find a light brooch with a sword and dragon symbol adorned with a sapphire stone. Both of them were handcrafted and beautiful pieces that could go with many outfits, so Alan hoped that they would like it.